


Painfully Slow

by Curiosi_tea



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Modern AU, Mutual Pining, pining angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:54:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29643309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Curiosi_tea/pseuds/Curiosi_tea
Summary: Cobb has spent months pushing Din to give a dating app a chance. Din assumed that was his que to assume Cobb didn’t feel the same way about him. Really, Cobb just wants Din to be happy even if it’s not with him. It took Grogu wanting to dye his hair for them to finally come to terms with the truth.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Cobb Vanth
Comments: 13
Kudos: 67





	Painfully Slow

It started not long after they’d met. Din spent over an hour one afternoon over coffee venting about how he hadn’t had a significant other in years - not since he had adopted Grogu. So Cobb, only wishing to be a good friend, gave him a hand. 

He helped him set up his dating app profile. He gave his honest opinion on Din’s matches when it was asked of him, and kept his mouth shut when it wasn’t, no matter what he thought. He babysat Grogu on date nights, always leaving Friday evenings free, just in case. He really tried his best to hype up every single date Din went on. But he was also always there in the evening when he got home to wait until Grogu went to bed and sit at the kitchen counter with ice cream and an open mind willing to hear Din tell him exactly what went wrong with that night’s date.

He hadn’t loved Din in the beginning. He didn’t love Din when he insisted he join that stupid dating app. 

He didn’t realize until after, and he realized it slowly. When Din came home and immediately swept Grogu up into his arms, smiling brightly no matter how solemn he looked when he had first walked in. It was when Din invited him to the kid’s museum with him and Grogu and he found himself unable to say no to either of them. It was when he would get a text from Din saying the date was terrible and he’d put on the coffee pot and set up the living room for a movie because that’s just what he knew Din needed. It happened slowly - painfully slow. But Cobb adored Grogu....and without a doubt loved Din.

But he knew Din didn’t love him back. If he did, he wouldn’t continue to go on dates. He would say something. Din’s the most straight forward person Cobb knew and he couldn’t find it within himself to imagine that if Din reciprocated his feelings, he would keep it to himself. 

One night, long after Grogu had gone to sleep, Din asked him the one question he didn’t have a proper answer to.

“Why aren’t *you* dating anyone?”

Cobb stuttered for a moment, attempting not to choke on his ice cream. “Excuse me?” he coughed out.

Din just smiled back. “I mean, you push me and push me to go on these dates every week. The entire time I’ve known you, though, you have never been on a single date. Why?”

He took another bite of ice cream as he considered his response. “The person I’m interested in,” he answered with a sigh, “isn’t interested in me.”

Din processed the answer for a moment, silence fell between them. Finally Din gave his own sigh. “How do you know?”

Cobb scoffed. “Because if they did, why wouldn’t they have asked me out already?”

“You could ask them out, you know,” Din suggested with a smirk.

“I can’t,” Cobb whispered sadly, shaking his head. When he met Din’s eyes he couldn’t hold it and looked down at his ice cream. “I’d rather keep them as a friend I pine after hopelessly than ruin a friendship should they reject me.”

Din nodded sadly even if Cobb couldn’t see it. “That’s fair.”

“Cobb,” Grogu called as he entered the living room where Cobb was sitting, lost in thought. 

“Yeah, what’s up, Kid?” Cobb asked quickly, worried he had missed something important while thinking about his situation.

Grogu gave him a smile that Cobb knew meant he was about to ask a question that could potentially get him in trouble. But Grogu also knew, and Din and Cobb were both fully aware, that they could never say no to him.

“I want to dye my hair.”

\--------------------------------------------

Din did miss dating but not like this. He didn’t miss seeing a new person every week. He didn’t miss having to find new restaurants to visit. He didn’t miss having to awkwardly get to know someone. 

He missed the late night movies a couple of months in, where both members are comfortable and cuddled up against one another. He missed good morning and good night texts because he wanted them to be the first and last person he spoke to in the day. He missed lending jackets, quirky museum dates, walks in the rain. He missed the simple parts of the relationship.

It dawned on him slowly why none of his dates worked out. It didn’t hit him until well after he had already started his endeavor of the dating app. 

It was when he came home one evening to see Cobb and Grogu cuddled on the sofa fast asleep and all he could bring himself to do was cover them with a blanket and let them sleep. It was when he came home and saw Cobb wearing one of his hoodies, hanging loosely on him because he was thinner, and Din thought he looked absolutely precious. It was when he realized that Cobb said yes to every outing, every movie night, every chance to see Grogu because he adored that kid as much as Din did. It happened slowly....painfully slow. Din realized why none of his dates ever worked out. Because none of them were Cobb.  
But he knew Cobb didn’t feel the same way. If he did, why had he pushed Din to go on all those dates? Din always listened sadly to Cobb hype up his dates, always gave a sad smile when Cobb all but shooed him out the door so he wouldn’t be late. Just once, he wished Cobb would tell him to stay in the evening and the three of them could watch a movie. He wished Cobb would tell him to start the coffee and they’d just sit and chat. He wished, every single Friday evening, that Cobb would simply say, “Don’t go.”

But he never did. 

Din trudged down the hall thinking about all this as he came home from a particularly terrible date. If there was any day he desperately wanted some ice cream and a good conversation with Cobb, it was now.

He opened the door and called out his greeting to his best friend and son and was surprised by what greeted him back. Grogu ran up to him, throwing himself into Din's arms.

"Papa! Look what me and Cobb did today!" Grogu jumped up and down excitedly clapping his hands together. He looked the happiest Din had ever seen him besides the day he signed the adoption papers. But Din was struck silent.

Grogu's naturally very light hair was dyed green.  
"He just," Cobb started from the hallway, leaning his shoulder against the wall, scratching the back of his neck, "he really wanted to. I couldn't say no." Din's expression didn't change from the shocked one he had when he entered so he continued in a hurry, "It washes out, I swear! It'll be gone in like a month."

Din finally shook his mind clear of the shock and smiled down at his son. "It suits you," he managed with a chuckle and was rewarded with a crushing hug before Grogu ran off to the living room to finish what he was doing before Din came home.

“You’re not mad, are you?” Cobb’s typical welcoming smile was absent, replaced with a look of strong anxiety that made Din’s heart break.

“No, of course not,” Din reassured him quickly. “How could I be? Look how happy he is.”

Grogu looked up from his coloring page with a grin. “I wanted Cobb to dye his hair too, Papa.”

Din laughed. “Oh yeah? Did he say no?” Grogu nodded sadly.

“Gonna break my heart, Kid,” Cobb chuckled, dramatically placing his hand on his chest in mock agony. That earned a laugh from Grogu.

Din laughed as he walked up to Cobb, instantly reaching up to run a hand through his hair. “I don’t know, maybe a streak of green would suit you. Don’t you think, Grogu?” He looked away from Cobb’s hair to glance over his shoulder to his son.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Grogu cheered, jumping to his feet clapping again.

Din laughed at his son’s excitement and finally looked back to Cobb with a large smile. Suddenly realizing his hand had remained in Cobb’s hair - as soft and smooth as it was - he shyly pulled his hand away and dropped it back to his side. He cleared his throat before giving him a small smirk. “So, what about it?”

Cobb sighed dramatically. “I suppose if Grogu wants me to match, I can match.” Grogu cheered and Din’s smirk turned into a grin as he laughed. “Just a stripe,” Cobb reminded, “and only if you do it for me.”

Din nodded as he felt his heart ache. “That’s something I could do.”

As they walked back to the bathroom, Grogu pulled lightly on his father’s arm, pointing towards the mirror. “Papa, don’t you think I look like an alien now?”

“Yes, you’re my little alien,” Din laughed, ruffling Grogu’s hair.

Cobb laughed as he reached the door, leaning against the doorframe, “Does that make me an alien too?”

“Of course!” Grogu gasped as Cobb sat down on the closed toilet seat and wrapped an already stained towel around his shoulders. “We can do all the alien stuff together! We’ll visit planets and hunt for space monsters-”

“What am I doing while you two are off hunting space monsters?” Din asked as he put on a pair of gloves.

Though he had addressed Grogu, Cobb was the one to answer, “You’re piloting the flying saucer, of course.”

“Yeah!” Grogu yelled with a bounce.

Din could only laugh and shake his head. “God, I love you two.” It was out before he had even processed the words in his head. He was thankful that he back was turned slightly to Cobb as he was arranging the counter space for their project because he wasn’t sure he could have masked the emotion that he knew must have shown as he spoke the words. 

“We love you too, Papa,” Grogu laughed as he wrapped his arms around Din’s legs. He stayed there for a moment before pulling away, looking sadly at Cobb. “Aren’t you gonna say it too?”

Din opened his mouth to explain to his son that Cobb didn’t have to but Cobb was already clearing his throat. “Yeah, we uh-,” he gave a short chuckle, “we love ya too.” 

‘We,’ Din thought painfully. 

He took a deep breath and took the few steps towards Cobb. He sectioned off the chunk of hair that looked most appropriate. He could feel Cobb’s gaze looking up at him as he gently applied the dye. More than anything though, he could feel his own heart beat thumping in his ears, he felt like he could pass out.

Grogu’s voice overpowered the sound of his pulse, effectively calming him down. “You should dye your hair too, Papa.”

Din scoffed. “I think my hair is a tad too dark to dye it,” he pointed out.

“We could buy bleach,” Cobb offered with a smirk.

Din stared at him, looking slightly horrified. “I am not bleaching my hair, Cobb.”

Cobb tried not to be sad as Din stepped away, missing the feeling of his warmth so close to him. As Din took a step closer to him again, he opened his mouth to ask him what the matter was but the feeling of Din lifting the towel slightly off his shoulder and using it to wipe at his temple made the words fall short. His eyes turned back up toward Din’s, wondering why the other man wouldn’t meet his gaze. He entertained, for a moment, the thought that Din was mad at him. Then Din’s eyes flickered from this own hand to Cobb’s eyes and the wave of emotion from both of them hit Cobb like a train. 

They held their eyes locked on each other for a moment. Din vaguely heard Grogu leave the bathroom and go back to the living room. 

“Thank you for doing my hair,” Cobb whispered, desperate to keep the moment going.

Din smiled softly. “You asked me to do it and it makes my son happy, my two favorite things to do.”

Din felt his face burning, realizing that he just said he found anything Cobb asked him to do to be his favorite thing. But it was true. He would do anything Cobb asked of him at the drop of a hat. He could never deny that. 

“How was your date?” Cobb asked before mentally scolding himself, clenching his jaw so tightly it hurt. ‘Why did I ask that?’ 

Din cleared his throat, finally breaking the gaze and turning back to the counter to take off his gloves. If he hadn’t he would have seen Cobb lower his head with his eyes closed as he sighed in defeat of himself. “It was like any other,” he mumbled, “not right.”

Cobb lifted his head to see Din turning back to him. “Can I ask ya somethin’?” he asked as he stood and began helping put items on the counter away.

“Yeah,” Din sighed out, leaning his side against the counter to properly face Cobb, “go for it.”

“Why don’t you enjoy any of your dates?” He shrugged as he spoke, mirroring Din’s position against the counter. “You’ve been out with plenty of nice people.”

“I just,” Din gestured with his hand before dropping it in defeat. “I haven’t found the right person.” He wished he could convince himself he couldn’t feel the beginning of tears pricking his eyes. He cleared his throat and looked down at his feet. “Or maybe I have,” he admitted, hoping he wasn’t going to regret it, “I just haven’t done anything about it.” 

Cobb felt his heart break. He couldn’t believe what he was about to say. But Din was his friend above anything else and he wanted nothing more than for him to be happy. So, with that thought in mind, he gave a small sigh and whispered, “Then do something about it.”

There was a moment of silence as Din raised his gaze again and met Cobb’s and both of them took in a gasp. For the first time, they looked at each other and were able to see what the other felt. Cobb finally understood that he was the reason Din didn’t call back any of his dates. Din finally saw that Cobb’s pushing was just to make him happy.

Cobb heard the smallest of a whisper from Din saying something along the lines of, “Screw it,” before Din’s cold hand reached behind Cobb’s neck and urged him forward. Cobb took a step forward and so did Din and their lips finally connected. Cobb reached up and placed one hand on Din’s raised arm while his other hand found a place on Din’s shoulder. Neither knew quite how long they stayed like that, just enjoying their first kiss, their second, their third. 

They broke apart only when Grogu called for Din from the living room. Their lips less than an inch apart, Cobb could feel Din’s laughter on his face and he smiled. 

“I suppose I should go see what my son needs,” Din whispered. 

Cobb nodded slightly. “I’m sure the dye has set long enough, I should go wash it.” 

Neither moved for a moment, both wanting nothing more than to lean forward again and resume their connection. Another, “Papa,” was called from down the hallways and Din nodded. He leaned forward quickly and placed one last soft kiss on Cobb’s lips before turning around and headed towards his son. 

\---------------------------

“Papa, can we watch a movie tonight?” Grogu asked as he finished up his dessert from dinner. 

Din chuckled and nodded. “Sure, Kid.” He turned to Cobb who was leaning on the table, resting his chin in his hand, just admiring Din. “Are you staying?” 

“Only if you’d like me to,” Cobb replied softly. When Din nodded with a smile he stood up and began looking for popcorn. 

Once blankets were retrieved from the rooms and popcorn had been made, the three of them sat down on the sofa. Grogu sat between the two men, the bowl of popcorn in his lap, waiting excitedly for Cobb to start the movie. 

“You know,” Din started as Cobb began the movie. Cobb’s and Grogu’s attention turned their attention to him and he smiled. “I suppose I could handle bleaching a small streak of my hair. If it meant matching you two.”

Cobb smiled brightly while Grogu cheered happily. Din couldn’t help the smile he gave in return. He really adored them both so much, he’d do anything for them. Even dye a green streak in his hair.

As the movie began, Cobb reached his arm around Grogu’s shoulders and let his hand lay gently on the back of Din’s neck. Din leaned into the touch as Cobb’s fingers played lightly with Din’s hair. 

Din’s phone chimed a few minutes into the movie and he shifted slightly to check it. His smile dropped as he saw it was a match on his dating app. He glanced over at Cobb and Grogu chuckling at a joke in the movie that he had missed. He smiled as he unlocked his phone and held down the app. Clicking ‘delete’ was the easiest thing regarding that app he had ever done.

“Everything okay?” Cobb asked as Din tucked his phone away. The concern was clear on his face.

Din smiled brightly as he reached his hand up, taking Cobb’s in his own. He brought his hand to his lips and gently kissed Cobb’s knuckles. “Everything is perfect.”


End file.
